Infertility, breast cancer, early sexual development, endometriosis, asthma. All diseases which have rampantly increased over the last 50 years or so. Any connection to plastics? I think so. I do not feel there are any safe plastics, and I suggest drinking out of glass. If you are interested in learning more, I have provided a little information to get you started and then I suggest you research the topic further yourself.
Glass is a ceramic material that is formed at high temperatures. Glass is an amorphous solid and its elements are chemically sealed in its structure. Nothing leaches out of glass. Glass occurs in nature as obsidian (black volcanic glass) and the main component of all glass is silica (sand). If you think about it, you know that all harsh chemicals (strong acids and bases) are stored in glass flasks. This is because glass is so inert.
Plastic, on the other hand, is a man-made material that was developed from by-products of the petroleum industry. Due to the nature of the hydrogen carbon chains that make-up a plastic's structure, all plastic materials will leach chemicals.
Are any plastics o.k.? Recent media coverage would suggest that there are acceptable plastics for food use. I don't agree. Let me tell you why.
I googled 'plastic leaching' and found the following information from a site,
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/which-plastics-are-safe.html. It states,
"The news about plastics has been pretty alarming lately, causing some of us to go dashing for the water bottles to see what kind of plastic they are—and find out if we’ve been unwittingly poisoning our children and ourselves with chemicals leaching into the water from them.
If you’ve been concerned, here is a handy chart that identifies the good, bad, and OK plastics and where they are found. Find out here:
1 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE)
Used to make soft drink, water, sports drink, ketchup, and salad dressing bottles, and peanut butter, pickle, jelly and jam jars.
GOOD: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones."
Used to make soft drink, water, sports drink, ketchup, and salad dressing bottles, and peanut butter, pickle, jelly and jam jars.
GOOD: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones."
All sounds good, or does it? Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones??? First of all, how much testing has been done and what other ill health effects might these new plastics cause. Second, unlike glass, they are leaching some chemicals, just not ones thought to cause cancer or disrupt your hormones.
As a ceramic engineer, I know that there are no good plastics for food use. All plastics leach plasticizers and other chemicals. Plasticizers are used to make plastics more flexible. That is why it is recommended to purchase hard plastics because they contain less plasticizers. Plasticizers act as hormone disruptors. What kind of problems might be linked to plasticizers? Per
http://www.sustainableproduction.org/downloads/PhthalateAlternatives-January2011.pdf, "These studies have identified a possible association between exposure to phthalates and male reproductive malformation, sperm damage, fertility impairment, female reproductive tract diseases, early puberty in girls, asthma, and thyroid effects. Adverse effects on the lungs, liver and kidneys have been observed in animals and in some limited human studies."
I could go on and on, but I think I have exposed the tip of the iceberg for you. If for no other reason, I think water tastes much better out of a glass than a plastic cup. Switch to glass and see if you don't agree.
Mary, I was doing so good about getting plastic out, but I've let it creep back in. I have a five gallon jug that we fill with reverse osmosis water, but it's plastic. Ugh! I need to find a glass replacement. Have you seen any glass ones around? I also need some glass water bottles for the kids' lunches. I'll comment again when I find some.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I do have a good replacement option for your 5 gallon jug. That is the topic of my next post. Concerning the glass water bottles for the kids' lunchbox, there are several options. The safest, such as the Lifefactory, are very expensive. From kindergarten on, I sent my boys with a small Perrier water bottle that we refilled each day with filtered water. They knew to be careful with it and we had only one break in a lunchbox in three years time. We now refill larger Mountain Valley glass bottles. Buying a single glass bottle of water and refilling it is definitely the cheapest option. If you look for glass water bottles on Amazon you will find lots of options with reviews. Let us know if you find something you really like.
ReplyDeleteI'm about ready to sort thru my cabinets and toss or donate my plastic. Its been a few week process to change over. Slowly buying items for my lunch bag as well as getting water bottles (thank Mary and Julie) for work and home. I feel like I might still be needing something more, but the change is in process and I'm moving forward!
ReplyDeleteOh, and ideas for bottles while out running? I can't think of a light, easily handled replacement for running or biking?
Kris, You are making great progress! Concerning your questions, I would definitely not use a plastic bottle or a camelbak hydration pack. For biking, we put our glass bottles in a small backpack along with a few healthy snacks. For running, I would recommend a stainless steel bottle such as the Klean Kanteen. Even better would be a glass-lined stainless steel bottle, but I did not find any available. Here is an article about water bottles on a running website you might want to look at, http://www.teamrunningfree.com/blog/2008/01/18/the-safest-alternative-to-plastic-water-bottles/.
ReplyDeleteThanks.. I'll take a look at that article. I've been drinking my tea at work in a stainless steel bottle. They are lighter and less of the breakable factor.
ReplyDelete